Stuff You’ll Need To Survive A Winter Power Outage

Image source: Pixabay.com

It’s a simple fact. Power outages happen. Any outage always presents challenges, but an outage in winter presents a whole new set of challenges.

Some outages affect a city block, others a whole neighborhood or region. The cause is typically an ice storm, and the outages can be far-reaching. In Quebec, Canada, an ice storm left millions without power for up to six months in the cold of the Canadian winter. The result was a desperate lack of resources and support to any who needed any kind of assistance.

Preparing for a Winter Power Outage

A gas-powered generator with an ample supply of gas can make a lot of things easier. If you’re really ambitious, you could have a gas-powered, whole house generator installed. If you’re lacking both, you’ll have to get resourceful

Heat

Fireplace. This is probably the most common heating alterative that people have in their homes. It’s not as efficient as a wood-burning stove, but when there’s no heat, it’s a welcome resource. The ability of a fireplace to provide heat to one room is significant, but you may find that other rooms don’t receive as much heat depending on the size of your house. However, it will keep the rest of the house relatively above freezing, but I would hunker down with family next to the fireplace on couches and sleeping bags. You’ll also want to open cabinets under sinks and make sure bathroom doors are open to prevent pipes from freezing.

Wood burning stove. Perhaps the best alternative heat source and capable of spreading heat beyond one room.

Black blankets in the sun. A curious suggesting from the Emergency Management Agency suggests putting black blankets on the floor where sunlight comes through the windows. The black color absorbs heat and will provide a bit of extra heat to the house.

Dangerous sources of heat include kerosene heaters, gas stoves or charcoal grills. They produce carbon monoxide over time. A gas range can be used occasionally for cooking, but should not be used as a heat source for a long duration.

Lighting

Flashlights with plenty of backup batteries and candles are the lighting options of choice. LED flashlights are a good choice because of the amount of light they cast with a minimal power drain on batteries.

Water

If your water is from a municipal water source, there’s a good chance you’ll still have water in an outage. Municipal water is gravity-fed from tall water tanks, but they need to be refilled from time to time. If you have a well dependent on an electric pump, you’ll have to find alternatives.

• Stored and filled 5-gallon water bottles.


• Melt snow and ice in a 5-gallon bucket set in the sun indoors.


• If you hear a weather report that portends the possibility of an outage, fill your bathtub with water but use it only for flushing the toilet. A bucket in the toilet will give it a good flush.


• Avoid frozen pipes by letting the faucets slowly drip if you are on municipal water. If the heat in your house is a problem and you have a well, you’re wise to drain the pipes to prevent them from freezing.

Food

• Refrigerator and freezer. Food will last in a refrigerator for 24 hours and in a freezer for 48 hours if you open the doors minimally. You also can place ice into plastic bags and turn your fridge/freezer into a large cooler.


• Stock up on foods that don’t require refrigeration or freezing. It’s easy to do. If it’s on the shelf in a store, it will survive a power outage.


• You have some options here:
  
  
  
  • Outdoor on a grill
  
  
  • On a gas range
  
  
  • On top of the wood-burning stove
  
  
  • Next to the fire in the fireplace in a Dutch oven
  
  
  
  


• Refrigerator realities
  
  
  
  • Set to coldest settings if you suspect an outage is possible
  
  
  • Coolers in the garage filled with plastic bags of snow and ice
  
  
  • Outside in a snowdrift but beware the animals. Use a 5-gallon bucket with a locking lid
  
  
  
  

Communication

• Cell phones and the charging challenge. It’s hard to charge a cell phone without electricity, but you could use a car charger in the car, a solar charger about the size of a notebook, a generator or a cell charger power pack.

Bailing out

If you determine the situation is unbearable for you and your family, you’ll need to bail out. This assumes you have somewhere to go that’s at least comfortable like a neighbor, friend or family member who has better resources, or a local shelter housing people and families who are ill-equipped to handle the outage. But before you bail, there are some steps you should take:

• Drain the water pipes


• Turn all of your circuit breakers to the off position. This will prevent a power surge when the power come back on. In fact, some people take this step the minute a power outage occurs at any time of year except for a room with a few lamps to signal that the power is back on.


• Pour anti-freeze into your toilets and drains for every sink, bathtub and shower


• Make sure all doors and windows are locked, and drapes and curtains drawn


• Take or dispose of any food in fridge or freezer or other perishables like bread

Preparation is the key

Any power outage presents problems. It’s a good idea to think ahead to what alternative resources you will need during a power outage and make sure you have them in place.

What tips would you add? Share your advice in the section below:

A “Bomb Cyclone” Is Set To Detonate Off The East Coast

This report was originally published by Tyler Durden at Zero Hedge

“This storm developing off the Southeast coast will meet the meteorological criteria of a ‘bomb’ as it rapidly intensifies. The signal for a storm has been evident since last week, but as the track has been fine-tuned, impacts to the I-95 corridor are now expected. Snow, strong winds, and very cold temperatures are expected particularly the further east one heads,” said Ed Vallee, meteorologist at Vallee Weather Consulting LLC.

Winter Storm Grayson, a very large and powerful winter storm, is threatening the East Coast of the United States with heavy snow, intense winds, and record-setting low temperatures. Winter storm watches and warnings have been issued for many coastal regions in north Florida to Maine from Wednesday into late Thursday.

This week’s storm may end up being worse than your average nor’easter, according to Bloomberg. It could produce a “bomb cyclone,” otherwise known as a bombogenesis, a phenomenon that occurs when a system’s central pressure drops steeply – 24 millibars or more – in 24 hours. If current computer models hold, that’ll start to happen somewhere off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and continue as the storm moves north. Hurricane-force wind warnings have been posted off the coast where ships could encounter winds of 80 miles (130 kilometers) an hour and waves as high as 26 feet on Thursday.

“The real apex, the peak of the storm, will be Cape Cod to Nova Scotia,” said Gregg Gallina, a forecaster at the U.S. Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

Pressure and wind visualization of storm off the coast of New England on Thursday.

This particular storm, which is currently developing off the coast of Florida, will devour enough warm water that it could be considered a winter hurricane by the time it leaves the Mid-Atlantic coast late Wednesday.

All day Thursday meteorologists are going to be glued to the new GOES-East satellite watching a truly amazing extratopical "bomb" cyclone off New England coast. It will be massive — fill up entire Western Atlantic off U.S. East Coast. Pressure as low as Sandy & hurricane winds pic.twitter.com/6M4S3y75wT

— Ryan Maue | weather.us (@RyanMaue) January 2, 2018

The Weather Channel describes how a bombogenesis forms:

To be classified as a weather bomb, or having undergone bombogenesis or “bombing-out”, the central pressure of a low pressure system must drop at least 24 millibars within 24 hours.

Bombogenesis results when there is a large temperature gradient, usually between a cold continental air mass and warm sea-surface temperatures. However, it can also be the product of a cold polar air mass and much warmer air from the south, say, over the Plains states.

Over that temperature contrast, a powerful, intensifying jet-stream disturbance triggers air to rise and kicking off the bombogenesis process.

Frequently, Nor’easters are weather bombs due to cold air surging southward from Canada combined with the warm ocean waters of the Gulf Stream.

“Some computer models are projecting a minimum central air pressure of below 950 millibars at its peak, which would be nearly unheard of for this part of the world outside of a hurricane,” said Mashable’s Andrew Freedman. “For comparison, Hurricane Sandy had a minimum central pressure of about 946 millibars when it made its left hook into New Jersey in 2012.” By Thursday, the European model forecasts the storm to register at 946 millibars off the coast of Long Island, making it a rather intense storm on par with destructive hurricanes.

With the cold air in place ahead of the storm, winter storm watches and warnings have been issued from north Florida to Maine.

On its current track, the storm will scrape the East Coast and dump snow from South Carolina to Maine and into Canada, with Boston and parts of Maine bearing the brunt. Georgia Governor Nathan Deal has already declared a state of emergency for 28 counties. The weather stands to wreak havoc on markets for longer, as electricity prices have already surged to the highest level in years and natural gas demand hit a record high.

The Washington Post details the hazardous weather conditions expected to hit the East Coast:

The responsible storm is forecast to begin taking shape off the coast of Florida Wednesday, unloading hazardous snow and ice in highly unusual locations not accustomed to such weather. The National Weather Service has already posted winter storm watches from Lake City, Fla. to Norfolk

It is then expected to rapidly intensify, buffeting the Mid-Atlantic beaches and eastern New England, where winter storm watches have also been issued.

In Charleston, one to three inches of snow and sleet is forecast Wednesday, where the Weather Service warns to “plan on difficult travel conditions.” From Norfolk to the Maryland and Delaware beaches, including much of the southern half of the Delmarva Peninsula, 3 to 6 inches of heavy snow are predicted from Wednesday evening to Thursday afternoon.

The National Weather Service office serving northeast Florida and southeast Georgia cautions that a nasty mix of light freezing rain, light sleet and light snow is expected to develop Wednesday “with significant icing possible.”

Farther inland in the Mid-Atlantic, near Interstate 95, the storm’s exact track will be highly consequential. Current computer models suggest most, if not all, snowfall will occur east of Washington and Baltimore on Wednesday night into early Thursday. But small shifts to the west could bring some snow to these cities.

To the north, Philadelphia and New York have a better chance for a coating of snow, but — unless the storm edges closer to the coast — the more significant snow should remain to their east from Atlantic City to eastern Long Island, where at least four to six inches could fall late Wednesday to late Thursday.

By the time the storm reaches the ocean waters east of Long Island and eastern New England on Thursday, it will be explosively intensifying. The storm’s central pressure will have fallen 55 millibars in just 24 hours — an astonishing rate of intensification.

In Boston, the Weather Service is predicting not only four to seven inches of snow but also winds strong enough to bring down branches. Throughout eastern Massachusetts and eastern Maine, the combination of wind and snow could create blizzard conditions, especially if the storm wobbles west.

There’s a silver lining: The storm will offer some respite from the bone-rattling cold that triggered wind chill advisories and freeze warnings across the central U.S. and winter storm watches from Massachusetts to Florida on Tuesday.

But the relief will only be temporary as the Arctic chill is set to make a comeback by the end of the week. Temperatures will rise out of the teens and single digits from Philadelphia to Boston before slipping back again by Friday and Saturday.

The Weather Channel outlines the Snow potential:

• The best chance for significant accumulating snow along the U.S. coast is in eastern New England. This snow may be heavy and accompanied by strong winds.


• For now, lighter accumulations are expected from the New York City Tri-state area to the Delmarva Peninsula.


• Again, exact amounts will depend on the track of the low in relation to the East Coast.


• Heavy snow, possibly changing to rain in some locations, is likely in parts of Atlantic Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland) Thursday into Friday.

According to a StormHamster.com meteorologist tracking the trajectory the storm, here are the two scenarios:

• DE/NJ/NYC


• E-MD/E-PA/SE NY

As a result there is going to be a QPF drop out from around Virginia up towards Connecticut. Of course if we shift further west then we shift everything west but there will still be a dropout in that NW corner if you will. Be it DE/NJ/NYC or be it E-MD/E-PA/SE NY. Regardless of precise location of this storm and it’s heavier precipitation contours there has to be a drop out in north and west sections.

StormHamster.com adds,

This system will become a hurricane force low. It is why you really do not want to see it come west like it has over time. I always felt the chance existed and now unfortunately not only here we are but with the potential to even pull it further west in time. These winds will cause widespread power outages. It has also been a no brainer that Nova Scotia was going to get absolutely smacked by this storm and they are in for it with this one no matter what we get precisely along the eastern US coastline. Unavoidable heavy hit for them.

What happens next could be devastating for the East Coast: “The whole troposphere is coming south and we will not avoid an intense cold snap lasting several days,” said StormHamster.com.

With the potential for power outages and extremely cold weather continuing in the on the East Coast through the weekend. This could be a storm to remember…

Finally, while neither Kim nor Trump has the red button to unleash this particular “bomb”, this is what the “bomb cyclone” will look like at is explodes over the East Coast in the coming days.

“This is only the appetizer – the main meal comes over the weekend,” said Judah Cohen, director of seasonal forecasting for Atmospheric and Environmental Research, a Verisk Analytics Inc. business in Lexington, Massachusetts. “This is about as intense a cold as I can remember.”

Meanwhile, meteorologist Paul Walker at AccuWeather said that the storm will probably cause blizzard conditions in New England and eastern Long Island as high winds accompany the snow. And then it gets worse again: Another round of bitterly cold air is forecast to blast across the U.S. by the middle of next week. The chill could linger through Jan. 16.

Empty Shelves & Madness (In America): A Minor Winter Storm Drove People Into "Panic Buying Of Food And Basics"

Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com,

Can you picture empty store shelves?

A couple of weeks ago, in early January, there was a relatively minor storm in the South and Southeast U.S. Cold weather, threat of the power going out, snow and ice and empty store shelves.

This wasn’t the big one. And yet it was enough to bring things to a panic.

If this is how people react to an extreme cold spell, then what happens when something major hits?

With about two months of winter to go, it is the kind of routine disturbance that is likely to happen again without much ado. A much more severe storm may come as well.ey

Shortages, and ill prepared people scrambling about for the final available resources. The angry race to the checkout line probably elicited road rage, fights and arguments… the storm that is brought out in people poses perhaps an even larger threat than the natural disaster, etc. itself.

After a few short hours ahead of a short-lived bitter cold, practically everything was gone – and nothing even happened yet. None one had gone without, and things hadn’t even gotten the chance to turn ugly.

If this had been a true crisis, and not just extreme weather over the weekend, people would have killed and died over a cart of groceries, some bottles of water or some fuel… and they could have prepared instead.

Vic Bishop shared these photos via Waking Times.com that were sent by a Walmart employee in a North Carolina store. He witnessed a chaotic buying spree, hopeless long lines and a people who could be brought to their knees within mere hours, and without even facing a real threat:

As a wave of extremely cold temperatures and isolated winter storms hits the South and Southeastern parts of the United States, Americans are once again proving their tendency to panic buy food and basic provisions in the event of even the most predictable and short-term emergencies.

[…]

The following images were sent to Waking Times on January 6th, 2017, by a Wal-Mart employee of the Cambridge Court store in Charlotte, North Carolina, who photographed empty food shelves as a severe winter storm descended upon the region. Along with the photos, this employee commented that the store had been a madhouse all afternoon and that lines were incredibly long.

“It’s been a mess since Monday, the lines on the register look like people going to vote.” ~Wal-Mart employee, Ras Vosty

[…]

If this type of panic buying, which can empty the shelves of a major box retailer like Wal-Mart in just a few hours, is so common place even in the event of a minor, predictable weather event, then what will happen when a serious crisis like a severe economic crash or an escalation of global conflict breaks out?

These photos show that society is completely unprepared for ANYTHING AT ALL out of the ordinary… and if it lasts more than 12 hours, it will cause complete chaos shortly afterwards.

The people you see on the streets, in your community, and especially in the big cities, would be lucky on average to make it three days with the back-up canned goods and last pickings stored in their cabinet and fridge.

After 12-72 hours without ATMs and EBT debit cards working, and without food to buy at the stores, electricity and other services, people will absolutely lose it.

There will be nothing else holding back the inner animal.

That is when everyone you in the general population becomes a threat against you, and a liability to your survival.

Do your friends and neighbors know that you prep and store lots of extra food, fuel and supplies?

Will they be knocking on your door for shelter and refuge, only to eat through your carefully-stocked cache? Will their greed, ignorance and stupidity give you away, open you up to outside attacks, get your arrested or even killed?

There will be a lot revealed about the human character the next time a rise crisis hits and something lasts longer than a weekend storm.

Be prepared, and be on guard for signs like this – that things are not as stable as they appear on the surface:

Becoming self-sufficient, and cutting yourself out of the loop of dependency on the system, supply chain and people around you might be a good thing to do.

At the very least, a couple extra weeks of everything you might need in a crisis should be the minimum step to take – as political and economic unrest may well be coming, along with perhaps more than the average level of natural disasters and extreme weather events.These are not normal times.

h/t Vic Bishop at the Waking Times.